Automatic can marking machine



Nov. 5, 1957 A. e. RIDDLE 2,811,917

AUTOMATIC CAN MARKING MACHINE Filed July 3, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l 11 V VV 13 Q h I I INVENTOR.

ALLAN C. RIO/3L5 k BY 4 1 l A W 36 I ii @442 76 W Arro uey Nov. 5, 1957A. G. RIDDLE AUTOMATIC CAN MARKING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July5, 1953 Till TE. 11

INVENTOR. ALLAN C. RIDDLE United States Patent AUTOMATIC CAN MARKINGMACHINE Allan G. Riddle, Nutley, N. J., assignor to Robal ManufacturingCorporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application July3, 1953, Serial No. 365,978

2 Claims. (Cl. 101-35) The present invention relates to a machine forauto matically marking or stamping cans or other similar articles and,more particularly, it relates to an automatic can marking machine whichsimultaneously marks opposite sides of a series of cans continuously fedthereto by a conveyor system and which employs a light sensitive meansto insure that each can is marked in the proper place.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide amachine for automatically marking cans which has a light sensitive meansadapted to insure that the marking occurs in proper register with thearea on the can to be branded.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a machine ofthe above character which is adapted to simultaneously mark oppositesides of a can.

In addition, it is an object of the present invention to provide anautomatic can marking machine having a pair of solenoid operated markingunits which are actuated in timed relation with the passage of the cans.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide an automatic canstamping machine which can be adjusted to accommodate various size cans.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become moreapparent as it is described in detail below with particular reference tothe accompanying drawings wherein,

Figure 1 is a plan view of the automatic can marking machine of thepresent invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on lines 2-2 of Figure 1 and lookingin the direction of the arrows;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on lines 3-3 of Figure 2 and lookingin the direction of the arrows;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on lines 4-4 of Figure 3 and lookingin the direction of the arrows;

Figure 5 is a view on lines 55 of Figure 1 and looking in the directionof the arrows;

Figure 6 is a view taken on lines 66 of Figure 2 and looking in thedirection of the arrows; and

Figure 7 is a diagram showing the electrical circuit employed with thesolenoid operated marking units and light sensitive means.

Briefly describing the present invention it comprises a frame having apair of opposed solenoid operated marking units mounted on either sidethereof. Each marking unit has a head portion which is adapted toreceive various rubber or plastic stamping elements for marking thecans. And endless conveyor belt is disposed slightly below andintermediate the marking units and is adapted to carry between themarking units a series of flat sided cans or similar articles which areto be stamped. This conveyor belt may have either an intermittentforward motion or a continuous slow forward motion as may be desired. Oneither side of each marking unit there is positioned a pair of ribbonspools which are adapted to carry an inking or marking ribbon past theface of the stamping element of that particular marking unit. At one endof the machine there is disposed a light sensitive means which consistsof a light source, such as an electric light, to cast a beam over andperpendicular to the path of travel of the conveyor belt, and aphoto-cell disposed on the opposite side of the conveyor belt to receivethe light beam. As each can passes into and interrupts the beam, thesolenoid operated marking units will be energized through suitableelectrical connections so that the stamping elements advance and stampthat particular can then disposed there between.

In order to release the can from the grip of the two stamping elementsafter it has been branded, a circuit breaker or timer is utilized tobreak the electrical circuit energizing the solenoid operated markingunits and to keep the circuit open until the branded can has passed outof the path of the light beam. After the branding and interruption ofthe electrical circuit, each marking unit is then pulled back to itsinitial position by a pair of suitably mounted spring members. A pair ofadjustable guide rails are disposed above the endless conveyor belt andparallel thereto and these guide rails serve to hold the cans in properposition as they advance toward the marking units. Brushes are providedat both the entrance and the exit to the automatic can stamping machineto wipe the sides of the moving cans.

he solenoid operated marking units are so mounted that they may beadjusted laterally and vertically of and toward and away from theconveyor belt so that cans of all sizes may be accommodated. When largeror smaller cans are to be marked the guide rails may be moved closer orapart to provide for the differences in the sizes of the cans.

With particular reference to Figures 1 and 3, there is shown a framecomprising two spaced apart and opposing members 11 which may be mountedon any suitable platform (not shown). Each member 11 has a base 11a, endwall 11b and side walls 110. Since the members 11 are spaced apart, theydefine a passage 12 in which travels an endless conveyor belt 13 drivenby any suitable source of power. The base 11a of each member 11 carriesa pair of parallel angle irons 14 which extend from end wall 11]; towardpassage 12. A flat bar 15 having a centrally located raised portion 16is mounted on each pair of angle irons 14 and connected thereto by theend threaded rods 17 positioned at either end of the flat bar. Each fiatbar 15 is positioned parallel to the passage 12. The upper threaded endsof the rods 17 extends through the slots 18 in the flat bar 15. Thelower threaded ends of the rods 17 extend through the slots 19 in theangle irons 14. The slots 19 are at the right angles to the slots 18, i.e., slots 18 extend parallel to passage 12 and slots 19 extendperpendicular thereto. A pair of lock nuts 29 are mounted at eachthreaded end of each rod 17 to position the flat bar 15 with relation tothe angle irons 14. Each flat bar 15 carries thereon a solenoid operatedmarking unit 21, which will be described in detail below.

By adjusting the rods 17 in the slots 18 and 19 and tightening the locknuts 21) to hold the rods in position, it is possible to move themarking unit 21 laterally and vertically of and toward and away from thepath of travel belt 13.

For purposes of clarity and simplification, I shall describe a singlemarking unit and its related and cooperating parts on one side of thebelt 13, it being fully understood that a similar marking unit andassociated parts are located on the opposite side of the belt. Themarking unit 21 is mounted on the raised portion 16 of the flat bar 15and has a base plate 22 which lies on raised portion 16 and is connectedthereto by bolts 23. The base plate 22 has a groove 22a in itsundersurface which extends transversely of the raised portion 16. Thusthe nndersurface of base plate 22 and the upper surface of raisedportion 16 define an enclosed channel 24 open at both ends only.

An arm 25 is slidably received within the channel 24. The forward end ofthe arm 25 carries a head portion 26 having inturned flanges 27 at thebottom and side edges of its forward face 2611, which flanges areadapted to receive a stamping element 28 usually consisting of analuminum mounted rubber or plastic marking die. The stamping element 28is replaceable in the head portion 26 so that different brands may beapplied to the cans as and when desired.

A pin 29 is integrally connected to the lower part of rear face 26b ofthe head portion 26 and extends outwardly thereof. A second pin 30 isintegrally connected to the bottom of raised portion 16 and dependsdownwardly thereof. A spring 31 is joined to both pins 2 and 3ft and isadapted to normally pull the arm 25 and thus the head portion 26 awayfrom the path of travel of belt 13. The rear end of the arm 25 has anupright L-shaped extension member 25a which is attached by the bolt 32to a link member 33, which in turn is attached by bolt 34 to thearmature 35 disposed in the core 37a of the solenoid unit 37. Thesolenoid unit 37, which has the usual laminations 370, is mounted on theL-shaped bracket 37b which is fixedly positioned on the top of raisedportion 16 of the flat bar 15.

When the solenoid unit 37 is energized, the armature 35 will moveforwardly in the core 37a toward the conveyor belt 13. Forward movementof the armature 35 will bring the arm 25 and the head portion 26 towarda can on the belt 13 thereby causing the stamping element 28 to brandthe can. When the solenoid unit 37 is deenergized, the head portion 26will be pulled back to its normal position by spring 31 thus returningthe armature 35 to its initial position.

The flat bar 15, which carries the marking unit 21, has two forwardlyextending platforms 38 disposed near the ends thereof. A vertical shaft39 is fixedly connected to and extends up through each platform 38. Asbest seen in Figure 5, a gear 40 is rotatably mounted on each shaft 39above the platforms 38. A ribbon spool 41 is also rotatably mounted oneach shaft 39 above each gear 40. A stud 46a is disposed on the top faceof each gear 40 and is adapted to fit into a hole 41a at the bottom ofeach ribbon spool 41 so that the ribbon spool and gear will jointlyrotate when a turning force is applied to either.

The two ribbon spools 41 on the flat bar 15 carry a marking ribbon whichhas previously been impregnated with a color or pigment to be applied tothe cans. The ribbon 56 extends from ribbon spool to ribbon spool infront of the stamping element 28. A shelf 52 is attached to the bottomof fiat bar 15 and extends forwardly thereof. This shelf 52 has a pairof upright guide pins 51 at opposite sides thereof which serve to keepthe ribbon 50 parallel to the face of the stamping element 28.

A pair of lever arms 42 are pivotally mounted on the flat bar neareither end thereof. Each arm 42 has a boss portion 43 which rotatablyembraces a dual headed vertical shaft 44 extending up through the flatbar 15. The rear ends of each arm 42 are pivotally joined to each otherthrough the link member 45. The forward end of each arm 42 carries anidler gear 46 connected thereto by rivet member 4611. The lever arms 42are so positioned that movement of either arm will bring one of theidler gears 46 into meshing engagement with the gear 40, which islocated at the same end of the flat bar 15, and cause disengagement ofthe other idler gear 46 with its corresponding adjacent gear 40.

Positioned outwardly of each idler gear 46 is a power driven gear 47which is driven by a motor 48 positioned in the housing 49 underneaththe bar 15. The two motors 48 under each end of the flat bar 15 are soarranged that they rotate their corresponding gears 47 in oppositedirections. Each gear 47 is so located with respect to its correspondingidler gear 46 that when the idler gear 46 is moved into meshingengagement with its adjacent ribbon spool gear 40, it will also meshwith the adjacent power driven gear 47. Thus power is transmitted fromthe motor driven gear 47 through the idler gear 46 to the ribbon spoolgear 40. This arrangement causes the ribhon 50 to be unwound from onespool 41 onto the opposing spool at the other end of the flat bar 15.

When the ribbon 50 has been wound as far as possible on one spool 41during operation of the machine, the rear end of the lever arm 42carrying the disengaged idler gear 46 is moved inwardly thereby bringingthe disengaged idler gear into mesh with the adjacent gear 40 and motordriven gear 47. This will cause the empty ribbon spool 41 to wind theribbon 50 upon itself and cause the filled spool to unwind.

Adjustably mounted on rear wall 11b of one of the Jembers 11 is a lightsensitive means such as a photo cell of which intercepts a light beamfrom a light source 61 also adjustably mounted on the rear wall 11b ofthe opposing member 11. By suitably positioning the photo cell 69, alight source 61 and marking units 21, an advancing can on the conveyorbelt 13 can be brought into proper position for branding just as theleading edge of the can interrupts the light beam. When the beam isbroken, operation of the photo cell causes current to flow in thecircuit shown schematically in Figure 7 so as to energize the solenoidunits 37 located on either side of the belt 13. This of course bringsthe stamping elements 28 forwardly to brand the can.

It is obvious that unless the stamping elements 28 are retracted tonormal position immediately after the branding operation, they willremain in extended position and grip the moving can because the lightbeam is still interrupted by the can. This would cause the jamming ofthe machine.

In order to prevent the stamping elements 28 from continually grippingthe moving can, I employ a timing mechanism 62 which keeps theelectrical circuit open immediately after branding until the rear edgeof the branded can has completely cleared the light beam. A timingmechanism suitable for these purposes, and which I use, is onemanufactured by Photoswitch Incorporated of Cambridge, Massachusetts,and described in their bulletin PC 478B (February 1951) at page 2,Figure 2. The timing mechanism 62 may be adjusted to permit suflicienttime to elapse between each branding depending upon size of the cans andspeed of the belt 13. Figure 7 of the drawings shows a schematic view ofthe electrical circuit employed for the photo cell 60, timing mechanism62 (enclosed in dotted lines) and solenoid operated marking units 21.

A pair of adjustable guide rails 63 may also be provided above andparallel to the belt 13. These guide rails 63 may be moved verticallyand horizontally to accommodate various size cans. Moreover, they shouldalways be adjusted so as not to interfere with the stamping elements 28.

Brushes 64 are also adjustably provided at the entrance and exit to themachine. One pair of opposing brushes 64 is positioned on side walls atthe entrance to the machine. The brush portions extend partly over belt13 and wipe the sides of the cans to give them a clean surface prior tobranding. A second set of brushes 13 are mounted in like fashion on sidewalls He at the exit area of the machine. These latter brushes set thecolor or ink on the brand and eliminate the tendency of an inkimpression to shrink due to the high lacquer finish that may he on thecan.

Operation In operation, cans are placed on a moving conveyor belt 13. Asthe leading edge of the first can interrupts the light beam from thelight source 61, the solenoid operated marking units 21 will beenergized by operation of the photo cell 60 and the stamping elements 28will be brought forwardly to brand the sides of the can. Instantly thecan is branded, the timing mechanism 62 will interrupt the electricalcircuit and keep it so interrupted until the rear edge of the brandedcan has passed the light beam. The timing mechanism is capable ofadjustment depending upon the particular size of the can being brandedand speed of the belt 13 to allow suflicient time to elapse before thephoto cell 60 is operative again. Immediately upon branding and uponinterruption of the electrical circuit by the timing mechanism 62, thesprings 31 retract the arms 25 and thus the stamping elements to theirinitial position. This entire operation is repeated as the next can isbrought into the path of the light beam by the conveyor belt 13.

It should be understood that my device is susceptible of many obviousand expedient modifications. For example, it may be so arranged thatonly one side of a can is branded. This could be achieved bydisconnecting from the electrical circuit one of the solenoid operatedmarking units 21.

Also, the light beam may be placed at the entrance area to the machineso that branding would take place when the rear edge of the can to bebranded clears the light beam. This is known as branding by making thebeam. As shown in the drawings, I have described branding by breakingthe beam.

Moreover, the belt 13 may carry the cans forwardly into the machine witha slow continous movement or with an intermittent movement, in whichlatter case branding would occur when the belt is stationary.

In addition, various combinations of single and dual motor systems maybe employed to drive the gears 47, e. g., a pair of reversible motors orone reversible motor may be used to drive all gears 47 through suitablelinkage.

Finally, it should be understood that concave or convex surfaced cansmay be branded by employing correspondingly shaped stamping elements 28.

While the invention has been described in detail and shown with respectto the accompanying drawings, it is not to be limited to such details,since many changes and modifications may be made in the inventionwithout departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Hence, it isdesired to cover any and all forms and modifications of the inventionwhich may come within the language and scope of any one or more of theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A machine for automatically and simultaneously marking both sides ofa can, comprising in combination, a frame having two spaced apart andopposing members defining a passage therebetween, each said memberhaving a can marking unit positioned thereon, said marking units beingin opposed relation; each marking unit including a solenoid and anarmature, a slidable branding element having a printing face, saidbranding element being operatively connected with said armature so thatsaid armature induces movement of said branding element when saidsolenoid is energized, a movable ribbon disposed across the printingface of each branding element, said ribbon being impregnated with acoloring medium, and spring means adapted to retract said brandingelement after each said induced movement; a conveyor belt adapted tocarry continuously a plurality of cans in said passage and between saidopposed marking units, said marking units being laterally and verticallyadjustable with respect to said cans on said belt, a photoelectric celldisposed on one side of said belt, a light source disposed on the otherside of said belt opposite said photoelectric cell and casting a lightbeam transversely of the path of said moving cans on said belt so thateach can will interrupt said beam as it is carried along by said belt,said photoelectric cell adapted to close a circuit in conjunction withthe passage of each can through said beam so as to cause said solenoidsto be energized whereupon said branding elements will move toward saidcan to simultaneously mark the sides thereof; a timing mechanism adaptedto interrupt said circuit instantly after said solenoids have beenenergized and to keep said circuit open until said marked can has beencarried beyond said marking units; means to control the direction ofmovement of each said ribbon and guide rails associated with said framefor positioning said cans equidistant between said opposed markingunits, said guide rails being vertically and laterally adjustable withrespect to said belt.

2. A machine for automatically and simultaneously marking both sides ofa can, comprising in combination, a frame having two spaced apart andopposing members defining a passage therebetween, each said memberhaving a can marking unit positioned thereon, said marking units beingin opposed relation; each marking unit including a solenoid and anarmature, a slidable branding element having a printing face, saidbranding element being operatively connected with said armature so thatsaid armature induces movement of said branding element when saidsolenoid is energized, a movable ribbon disposed across the printingface of each branding element, said ribbon being impregnated with acoloring medium, and spring means adapted to retract said brandingelement after each said induced movement; a conveyor belt adapted tocarry continuously a plurality of cans in said passage and between saidopposed marking units, said marking units being laterally and verticallyadjustable with respect to said cans on said belt, a photoelectric celldisposed on one side of said belt, a light source disposed on the otherside of said belt opposite said photoelectric cell and casting a lightbeam transversely of the path of said moving cans on said belt so thateach can will interrupt said beam as it is carried along by said belt,said photoelectric cell adapted to close a circuit in conjunction withthe passage of each can through said beam so as to cause said solenoidsto be energized whereupon said branding.

elements will move toward said can to simultaneously mark the sidesthereof; a timing mechanism adapted to interrupt said circuit instantlyafter said can has been marked and to keep said circuit open until saidmarked can has been carried beyond said marking units; means to controlthe direction of movement of each said ribbon and guide rails associatedwith said frame for positioning said cans equidistant between saidopposed marking units, said guide rails being vertically and laterallyadjustable with respect to said belt.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,677,927 Pettee July 24, 1928 1,770,029 Eberhart July 8, 1930 1,811,358Kern June 23, 1931 1,988,486 Ferenci Jan. 22, 1935 1,998,069 Beutel Apr.16, 1935 2,022,831 Smallen Dec. 3, 1935 2,515,854 Bodkin July 18, 19502,635,532 Stewart Apr. 21, 1953 2,646,746 Muller July 28, 1953 2,654,312Phipps Oct. 6, 1953

